Using location based services for determining a calling window

ABSTRACT

Telemarketing calls may originate from a call center based on processing a telephone number record which includes a telephone number. The telephone number record may also include other information pertaining to the telephone number, including whether it is a wireline or wireless number. Further information may indicate whether the solicitation call is being originated on behalf of a wireless carrier serving the wireless subscriber associated with the telephone number. The call center may use location information associated with the wireless number to ascertain a location of the wireless subscriber and to then ascertain a time zone of the wireless subscriber, so as to originate the telemarketing call within the appropriate regulatory calling time window. A dialer may originate calls for an agent using a list of wireline numbers and then using a list of wireless numbers.

BACKGROUND

A call center is typically capable of receiving and/or originatingtelephone calls involving staff members, also referred to as “telephoneservice representatives (“TSRs”) or “agents.” In many instances, thecall center is involved in one or more campaigns that originate calls tocalled parties on behalf of another business. For example, an insurancecompany may use the call center's services to remind their customers ofa policy renewal. Another marketing company may use the call center toconduct a solicitation campaign, etc.

The call center may have agents simultaneously involved in two or moreof such campaigns. This can be accomplished by assigning agents toprocess one of the two types of campaigns, either on a call-by-callbasis, or by allocating a subset (“team”) of agents to a particularcampaign and another team of agents to another campaign. Thus, theequipment originating calls in the call center may originate a call forone campaign followed by the next call for another campaign.

In originating the calls, the call center must comply with variousregulatory requirements. Various requirements dictate whether and howcalls can be originated to wireless subscribers, when telemarketingcalls can originate, and so forth. Compliance with these requirements isimportant, because violations can subject the call center operator tosignificant fines. Thus, mechanisms are required to ensure that the callcenter complies with the appropriate regulations based on the nature ofthe call originated.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosureherein is presented.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Technologies are generally presented herein pertaining to processingoriginating calls, such as telemarketing calls, in a call center usinginformation indicating certain aspects associated with the callednumber. This information could include whether the called number is awireless number and/or whether the call is being originated on behalf ofa wireless carrier. In one embodiment, information regarding the currentlocation of the called party that is a wireless user may be used todetermine a time zone for the called party to determine if the call iswithin a defined calling window. In another embodiment, the call centermay alternate calls for an agent, including e.g., first to a wirelinenumber and then to a wireless number using appropriate dialingprocedures for the type of number.

The subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms,including as, but not limited to, a computer-controlled apparatus, acomputer process, a computing system, or as an article of manufacture,such as a computer-readable storage medium. These and various otherfeatures will be apparent from the following Detailed Description andthe associated drawings.

This Summary is provided to exemplify concepts at a high level form thatare further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary isnot intended to identify key or essential features of the claimedsubject matter, nor is it intended that this Summary be used to limitthe scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimedsubject matter is not limited to implementations that address any or alldisadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a call center architecture illustratingthe various technologies disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of a call center originating calls to awireless called party that can be located in various time zones.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of processing a called telephone number by acall center using location based information associated with a wirelessnumber.

FIG. 4 illustrates a list data file structure indicating telephonenumber records according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a processing flow for processing a list of telephonenumbers for outbound calls by a dialer in a call center according to oneembodiment disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a processing flow for processing different types oftelephone numbers for outbound calls according to one embodimentdisclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a processing device used inone embodiment of the call center architecture to practice thetechnologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments for practicing the technologies disclosed herein aredescribed more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the technologiesdisclosed are shown. Indeed, the embodiments disclosed herein areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements and should not be construed as limiting or precluding otherembodiments applying the teachings and concepts disclosed herein. Likenumbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

Call Center Architecture

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a call center architecture 100illustrating the various technologies disclosed herein. The call centershown in FIG. 1 may process voice calls that are inbound-only,outbound-only, or a combination of both (sometimes referred to as a“blended” call center). Although many aspects of call center operationare disclosed in the context of voice calls, the call center may processother forms of communication such as facsimiles, emails, text messages,video calls, chat messages, and other forms. Since the call center mayhandle calls originating from a calling party, or initiated to a calledparty, the term “party” without any further qualification refers to aperson associated with a call processed by the call center, where thecall is either received from, or placed to, the party. The term“caller,” if used, will generally refer to a party calling the callcenter, but in many cases this usage is exemplary. Thus, use of the term“caller” is not intended to limit the concepts to only inbound callsunless the context dictates such.

Inbound voice calls may originate from calling parties using a varietyof phone types. A calling party may originate a call from a conventionalanalog telephone 110 b connected to a public switched telephone network(“PSTN”) 115 using an analog plain old telephone service (“POTS”) line116 a. The call may be routed by the PSTN 115 and may comprise varioustypes of facilities 116 d, including, but not limited to: T1 trunks,SONET based fiber optic networks, ATM networks, etc. Various types ofrouters, switches, bridges, gateways, and other types of equipment maybe involved in the processing of a call.

Inbound voice calls may also originate from a mobile device 110 c, suchas a smart phone or tablet, which wirelessly communicates with a mobileservice provider (“MSP”) 112. The voice calls may be routed to the PSTN115 using an integrated services digital network (“ISDN”) interface 116b or other types of interfaces that are well known to those skilled inthe art. The MSP 112 may also route calls as packetized voice, referredto herein as voice-over-IP (“VoIP”) to an Internet provider 123 b usingInternet-based protocols. Other types of networks, such as those basedon ATM MPLS or other types can be used. For convenience, unlessindicated otherwise, the term “trunk” refers to any type of facility 116c, 116 d, or 116 e providing voice calls to, or from, the call center,regardless of the type of protocol or technology used. Specifically, a“trunk” is not limited to time division multiplexing (“TDM”) technology.

Voice calls may also originate from a calling party employing aso-called “IP phone,” “VoIP phone,” or “soft phone” 110 a. In oneembodiment, this device may comprise a computing device 105, such as alaptop or computing tablet, which interfaces with a headphone/microphonecombination, also referred to as a “headset” 106. An IP phone may use adigital voice control protocol and may process packetized voice dataaccording to various Internet based voice protocols, such as sessioninitiated protocol (“SIP”). The call may be conveyed by other types ofInternet providers 123 a, such as a cable company providing Internetaccess services over a coaxial cable facility 116 e. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that a variety of protocols and facilities may beused to convey voice calls.

The term “telephone call” as used herein is generally synonymous with a“voice call” unless indicated otherwise. Further, the term “telephonecall” may encompass a voice call originating from any type of device,such as a soft phone 110 a, conventional telephone, 110 b, a mobiledevice 110 c, or other device known in the art. The term “call” as usedherein may mean an active instance of two-way communication, an attemptto establish two-way communication, or a portion of the two-waycommunication depending on the context. For example, a user at aconventional telephone 110 b can dial a telephone call in an attempt toestablish two-way communication, and a call can be said to exist evenprior to establishment of a two-way connection. In another example, acall may be put on hold, and a portion of the call may be referred to asa “call leg” existing between the caller and certain equipment. A callmay comprise a number of concatenated call legs, as known to thoseskilled in the art. In certain contexts, which will be made explicit,the call may encompass communications other than voice, e.g., text,email, video chat, facsimile, etc.

Inbound calls from callers to the call center may be received at anautomatic call distributor (“ACD”) 130. The ACD 130 may be a specializedswitch for receiving and routing inbound calls under various conditions.The ACD 130 may be embodied as a dedicated form of equipment readilyavailable from various manufacturers, or the ACD 130 can be a so-called“soft switch” comprising a suitable programming module executed by aprocessing device to perform the necessary functions. The ACD 130 mayroute an incoming call over call center facilities 165 to an availableagent. The facilities 165 may be any suitable technology for conveyingthe call, including but not limited to a local area network (“LAN”),wide area network (“WAN”), ISDN, or conventional TDM circuits. Thefacilities 165 may be the same or different from the facilities used totransport the call to the ACD 130.

Calls may be routed over facilities 165 to an agent for servicing. Thatis, the party may speak with an agent for receiving, for example,customer service. The physical area at which the agent sits is oftenreferred to as an agent “position” and these positions are often groupedinto clusters that are managed by a supervisor, who may monitor callsand the agents' productivity. An agent usually uses a computing device,such as a computer 160 a-160 c and a voice device 161 a-161 c. Thecombination of computer and voice device may be referred to as a“workstation.” Thus, the workstation collectively has a data capabilityand a voice capability, although separate devices may be used. In someinstances, “workstation” may be used in reference to either the data orvoice capability at the agent's position. For example, “routing the callto the agent's workstation” means routing a call to one of the types ofvoice devices 161 a-161 c at the agent's position. Similarly, “routingthe call to the agent” means routing a call to the appropriate equipmentat an agent's position.

The voice device used by an agent may be a soft phone device exemplifiedby a headset 161 a connected to the computer 160 a. The soft phone maybe virtual telephone implemented in part by an application programexecuting in a computer. The phone may also comprise an InternetProtocol (“IP”) based headset 161 b or a conventional phone 161 c. Useof the term “phone” is intended to encompass all these types of voicedevices used by an agent, unless indicated otherwise.

Agents typically log onto their workstation prior to handling calls.This allows the call center to know which agents are available forhandling calls. The ACD 130 may also maintain data of an agent's skilllevel that is used to route a specific call to the agent, or group ofagents having the same skill level. If a suitable agent is not availableto handle a call, the ACD 130 may queue the call for the next availableagent. As can be expected, various algorithms may be employed to processcalls in an efficient manner.

Two types of signaling information may be provided with the inbound callthat the ACD 130 uses in processing the call. The first type ofsignaling information indicates the telephone number dialed by thecaller, and is frequently referred to as “DNIS,” derived from the DialedNumber Identification Service associated with this capability. A callcenter may provide various services, such as sales, customer service,technical support, etc., each of which may be associated with adifferent telephone number (e.g., multiple toll free “800” numbers). TheDNIS can be used by the ACD 130 to determine the purpose of the call,and potentially identify a group of agents having the appropriate skilllevel to handle the call. The ACD 130 may prioritize and route calls toan agent based on the required skill level. Skills-based routing may bea rule-based set of instructions that the ACD 130 uses to handle calls.Skills-based routing may be implemented by the ACD 130, or by the ACD130 interacting with a computer-telephone integrated (“CTI”) server 145.

The CTI server 145 may be incorporated in a call center to controland/or coordinate other components of the call center architecture 100.Specifically, the CTI server may interact with the ACD 130 to coordinatecall processing. Thus, in some embodiments, the CTI server 145 maycontrol the routing of calls from the ACD 130 to the various agentworkstations and/or provide data to other components processing thecall. The CTI server 145 may also provide call reporting functionalitybased on data collected during calls.

The second type of signaling information that may be provided with aninbound call is the calling telephone number, often referred to asautomatic number identification or “ANI.” In one configuration, the ACD130 and/or CTI server 145 may use the ANI of an incoming call toretrieve caller information from a data store 175 and provide the datato the agent's workstation computer 160 a-160 c over facilities 168along with routing the call to the agent's workstation phone. Forexample, the ANI may also be used to ascertain a party's status (e.g., a“Gold Level” customer warranting premium service), to facilitate the ACD130 routing the call to a select group of agents. The data store 175 mayinclude one or more databases storing different information such as, forexample, records of caller information. The data store 175 can beintegrated with the CTI server 145, the ACD 130, or segregated as astandalone media or database. Thus, the call and associated call dataare presented at the agent's headset 161 b and their computer 160 b.

The ACD 130 may place a call in a queue if there are no suitable agentsavailable, or the ACD 130 may route the call to an interactive voiceresponse server (“IVR”) 135 to play voice prompts. These prompts may bein a menu type structure and the IVR 135 may collect and analyzeresponses from the party in the form of dual-tone multiple frequency(“DMTF”) tones and/or speech. The IVR 135 may be used to furtheridentify the purpose of the call to the CTI server 145, such asprompting the party to enter account information, or otherwise obtaininformation used to service the call. The IVR 135 may interact withother components, such as the CTI server 145 or the data store 175, inorder to retrieve or provide information for processing the call. Inother configurations, the IVR 135 may be used to only provideannouncements.

The interaction between the ACD 130, IVR 135, CTI server 145, agentcomputers 160 a-160 c, as well as other components, may involve using alocal area network (“LAN”) 170. Other configurations are possible, suchas, but not limited to, using a wide area network, wireless network,router, bridge, direct point-to-point links, etc.

When an agent is interacting with a party, the agent may use theirworkstation computer 160 b to further interact with other enterprisecomputing systems, such as a customer relationship management (“CRM”)server 140. A CRM server 140 may be used to integrate information fromvarious enterprise business systems to facilitate the agent servicingthe call. A variety of applications may be provided by a CRM server 140.

In addition to receiving inbound communications, including voice calls,emails, and facsimiles; the call center may also originatecommunications to a called party, referred to herein as “outbound”communications. Any of the previously identified inbound calling partiescan also receive calls originating from the call center. In someembodiments, a call center may employ a dialer 150, such as a predictivedialer or automated dialer and also referred to as an outbound dialer,to originate outbound calls on behalf of an agent at a rate designed tomeet various criteria. Similar to the other components within the callcenter architecture 100, the dialer 150 may comprise one or moresoftware modules executing on a processing device hardware platform.

The dialer 150 is typically configured to dial a list of telephonenumbers to initiate outbound calls, which can be accomplished byinstructing the ACD 130 to originate calls. In some embodiments, the ACD130 may include functionality for originating calls, and if so, thiscomponent may be referred to as a private automatic branch exchange(“PBX” or “PABX”). In other embodiments (not shown), the dialer 150 maydirectly interface with voice trunks using facilities 116 d to the PSTN115 for originating calls or facilities 116 c to an Internet provider123 b. After the calls are originated, a transfer operation by the ACD130 may connect the call with an agent, or place the call in a queue foran available agent. In the latter case, announcements or music may beprovided to the party.

In various embodiments, the dialer 150 may make use of one or morealgorithms to determine how and when to dial the list of numbers so asto minimize the likelihood of a called party being placed in a queuewhile maintaining target agent utilization. The dialer 150 can originatecalls manually and under the control of the agent, can automaticallydial calls after being previewed by the agent, or other forms oforiginating an outbound call. The dialer 150 may access a list database,which could be in the data store 175.

Another server that may be employed in a call center is a workforcemanagement (“WFM”) server 155. This server maintains information togenerate agent's schedules to effectively handle inbound/outbound calls.The WFM server 155 may maintain historical call volume information forcall campaigns and forecast expected call volume to predict the numberof agents needed to handle the call volume at a defined service level.The WFM server 155 can then apply information about available agents togenerate a work roster of agents. In other words, the WFM server 155schedules agents for their work shifts according to the anticipatedneeds of the call campaigns. Typically, the WFM server 155 uses aminimum time interval, referred to herein as a “scheduling interval,” togenerate the agent schedule. Each individual agent's work shifts arebased on the scheduling interval, and the current agent's shift scheduleis communicated to the ACD 130 so that is it aware of which agents areexpected to log into their workstations. In various embodiments, thescheduling interval may be 15 or 30 minutes. The ACD 130 may be aware ofthe agent's schedule, as it expects and confirms which agents log intotheir workstations at certain times. The ACD also typically obtains andprocesses measurement data along the same intervals as the schedulinginterval.

Another processing device may be a training server 158 configured todeliver training information to agents under various conditions. Thetraining server may incorporate its own internal database comprising thetraining content, or may access an external database, such as a databaseresiding on the data store 175. The training server 158 can communicatethe training content over the local network 170 to the agent'sworkstation. The training content may comprise different forms, as willbe discussed.

Finally, in various embodiments, the call center architecture 100 mayinclude other servers to perform various functions. For example, anadditional server (not shown) could be a quality assurance system thatrecords communications fielded by an agent or allows a manager tomonitor a voice session to ensure calls are being handled correctly.

Although the above devices are referenced as “servers,” each may be alsoreferred to as a “unit,” “component,” “processing device,” or “system.”A server may incorporate a local data store or interface with anexternal data store. Use of the word “server” does not require thecomponent to interact in a client-server arrangement with othercomponents, or using a particular protocol, although that may be thecase. Further, the above components may be located remotely from (orco-located with) other components. Furthermore, one or more of thefunctions of these components may be implemented on a single processingdevice to perform the functions described herein. For example, invarious embodiments, one or more functionalities of the ACD 130, the IVR135, the CRM server 140, the CTI server 145, and/or the dialer 150 maybe combined into a single hardware platform executing one of moresoftware modules. In addition, the call center architecture 100 may beprovided as a hosted solution, where the call processing functionalityis provided as a communication service (a so-called “communication as aservice” or “CaaS”) to a call center operator. In other embodiments,functionality of the WFM server 155 and the training server 158 may becombined on a single hardware platform. Thus, there is no requirementthat the servers identified above actually be located or controlled by acall center operator.

In addition, the agent positions can be co-located in a single physicalcall center or multiple physical call centers. The agents may beremotely located from the other components of the call center, and mayalso be remotely located from each other. This configuration issometimes referred to as a “virtual call center.” A virtual call centermay describe a scenario where agents work at home, using their owncomputers and telephones as workstations. In some configurations, asingle physical location of the call center may not be readilyidentifiable. This may occur when the call processing functions areprovided as a service in a hosted cloud computing environment and theagents positions are located in their individual residences.

Those skilled in art will recognize FIG. 1 represents one possibleconfiguration of a call center architecture 100, and that variations arepossible with respect to the protocols, facilities, technologies, andequipment used. For example, various algorithms and queuing arrangementsmay be defined to efficiently process calls. In other configurations,the ACD 130 may be configured to process, not only voice calls, but alsoother forms of communication, and perform corresponding call processingfunctions for email, text, or facsimile calls. Alternatively, a webserver (not shown in FIG. 1) may receive or originate email and textcommunications, as well as interact with other call center components.

Regulatory Restrictions

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) of 1991 makes it unlawfulunder certain conditions to originate any call using an automatictelephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded message to anywireless telephone number. Thus, generally speaking, it is illegal tooriginate telemarketing calls to wireless telephone numbers. However,wireless carriers making calls to their own wireless subscribers, forwhich the subscribers are not charged in any way for the call, are notprohibited under the TCPA from originating such calls. Thus, a wirelesscarrier may contact its subscribers under certain conditions to offer,e.g., new products or services.

In addition, solicitation telemarketing calls must be further limitedbased on the time of day when they originate to the called party.Specifically, telephone solicitations must occur between the hours of8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. based on the local time of the called party.Specifically, the time zone of the called party, not the originatingcall center, should be used for determining the appropriate time of dayfor compliance. In many cases, the call center may be located in adifferent time zone than the called party. For purposes herein, theappropriate time window for a telemarketing call is referred to as the“call window” or “calling window.”

Various aspects complicate the determination of what is the calledparty's local time. For wireline telephone numbers, the telephonenumbers were historically assigned to a wire center (e.g., switchingtelephone office) in blocks of numbers defined by an area code andcentral office code. Each is a three digit number, and the combinationis sometime referred as a NPA-NXX. The NPA stands for “numbering planarea” (a.k.a. “area codes”) and NXX is the central office code. For theNXX central office code, the N can be any number 2-9, and X can be anynumber 0-9. An example of a NPA-NXX is 404-847 which is associated withAtlanta, Ga., and is located in the eastern time zone. The complete,dialable telephone number has a four digit line number appended to thecentral office code. Thus, the complete telephone number format is basedon ten digits and can be represented as NPA-NXX-XXXX.

Number portability allows telephone numbers to be “ported” from awireline carrier to a wireless carrier. Thus, it is difficult toascertain based on the NPA-NXX itself whether the complete telephonenumber is serviced by a wireline or wireless carrier. In order toproperly route calls, various databases are maintained and madeavailable by communication providers that are updated to reflect thecurrent carrier serving a particular telephone number. Database servicesare available to indicate whether the number is a wireline or wirelessnumber.

A key benefit of wireless service (e.g., cellular service) isportability of the subscriber allowing users to use their cellular phoneat home, work, or while traveling. Thus, while a wireless telephonenumber may have been originally assigned to a subscriber in a givencity, the subscriber can be located in another city, state, or region ofthe country.

Furthermore, wireless users frequently may move or relocate to anotherpart of the country without giving up their wireless number. Thus, eventhough a wireless user may have originally subscribed to wirelessservice while living e.g., in Chicago, they may now be living in NewYork. The wireless user may retain their wireless number having aNPA-NXX that traditionally was associated with the Chicago area.

It can be appreciated that when originating a call to a wireless number,it is not readily discernible what time zone the called party is locatedin. For simplicity purposes, it is assumed that the user is carryingtheir mobile phone, so that the location of the user is the same as thelocation of their mobile phone. Further, reference to the “location ofthe wireless number” is understood to mean the location of the mobilephone associated with that wireless number. Similarly, reference of the“time zone of the wireless number” is understood to be the current timezone in which the mobile phone associated with that wireless number isoperating in.

Call Center Originating Calls to a Wireless Subscriber

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment 200 of a call center originating calls to awireless subscriber that can be located in various time zones. In thisembodiment, a call center 250 is diagrammatically illustrated in asimplified form focusing on the dialer 150 and a data store 175, whichcan be an internal or external database in various embodiments. The datastore 175 stores a list of telephone numbers (a “list”) to whichoriginating calls are to be made. The data store may also indicate acampaign that each telephone number is associated with. In variousembodiments, a single list or multiple lists may be defined. The use ofthe word “list” should not imply to limit the structure of the data inany way.

The dialer 150 access the list in the data store 175 to determine whichnumbers are to be dialed. Various forms of dialing can be used,including but not limited to predictive dialing, on-demand dialing,preview dialing, etc. The calls are setup to a network 255, which may bethe PSTN 115 from FIG. 1, an Internet provider 123, MPLS network, orother type of network.

FIG. 2 can be used to illustrate a call established to a wirelesssubscriber represented by a wireless smart phone 205 a. The call isrouted from the network 255 to the mobile service provider 210, whichcomprises a mobile switching center (“MSC”) 212. The presence of thecall at the MSC 212 causes the MSC to access a home location register(“HLR”)/visitor location register (“VLR”) database 216. The HLR/VLR 216may be considered as either a single or two distinct databases, and maybe housed in a single platform, or in different databases. The HLRindicates where each wireless subscriber of the mobile service provider210 is located within the home wireless provider 210. The VLR indicatesthe location of “visiting” wireless subscribers from another wirelessnetwork 220. Wireless subscribers can roam into another network, andwhen being served by another service provider, that subscriber istreated as a “visitor.”

A visited mobile service provider will inform the home wireless serviceprovider of the presence of a visitor. For example, if the subscribertravels to another mobile service provider 220, as evidenced by thepresence of the smart phone 205 b, then the wireless subscriber is notedas a visitor in the visited MSC's VLR 226. The visiting mobile serviceprovider 220 will also inform the home mobile service provider 210 ofthe presence of the subscriber, so that home MSC 212 can update its HLR216.

The MSC 212 may interconnect with various base transceiver stations 214,which in turn, interconnect with various cellular antenna/receivers on acell tower 218 a, 218 b. The HLR 216 stores an indication that the smartphone 205 a is currently in the range of a particular cell tower 218 a.More specifically, each cell tower may be divided into three sectors,and the HLR knows which sector of which cell tower the user is currentlylocated in. Each sector of each cell tower typically serves, but notnecessarily, an area in a single time zone. For smart phone 205 a, thisis depicted as being in the eastern standard time (“EST”) zone 262.

If the smart phone 205 a roams to another service provider 220, as shownby smart phone 205 b, then the sector location in the HLR 226 isupdated, and the home mobile service provider 210 is informed. If a callis established from the dialer 150 to the MSC 212 for the mobilesubscriber, the MSC 212 will query the HLR 216 and determine that thesubscriber is served by mobile service provider 220, and forward thecall to the MSC 222.

After the call is redirected to the MSC 222, the MSC 222 checks the HLR226 for the current tower associated with the smart phone, and routesthe call to the BTS 224 associated with the tower. The call is thenoffered to the smart phone 205 b.

When the call is offered to the subscriber, the subscriber may be inanother time zone than the originating party. In the case of smart phone205 b, it may be located in the mountain standard time (MST) zone 264.It is possible that the wireless service provider 220 may have a celltower 228 a in another time zone, e.g., in central standard time (“CST”)260. Because the location of the smart phone is known, it is possible todetermine a time zone of the subscriber at the home HLR 216 or otherdatabase made available by the wireless provider.

Although FIG. 2 describes two wireless service providers 210, 220, thissame architecture can be used by a single wireless provider having twodisparate serving areas. For example, the serving area of MSC 212 may beone metropolitan area, and the serving area of MSC 222 may be in anotherarea in an adjacent state, but both are associated with the samewireless carrier. Many wireless carriers have a nationwide network andmay maintain wireless network infrastructure in many states and manytime zones.

When the dialer 150 originates the call, the number on the list mayindicate that the number is a wireless number. However, the dialer 150generally does not know the current location of the caller. The dialermay know, at best, that the NPA-NXX is usually associated with a currenttime zone, but that does not mean the subscriber is presently in thattime zone.

The above description is a simplified description of how callsoriginating from a call center to a wireless subscriber are routed to avisiting mobile service provider. It should be recognized that there arevarious architectures that may be defined based on various cellularstandards. Many other processing aspects are required to route a callproperly, but those skilled in the art will recognize how thetechnologies disclosed herein can facilitate a call center to uselocation information for offering calls to a wireless subscriber.

In some instances, the wireless carrier may utilize a call center 250,either owned by a third party or under the control of the wirelesscarrier, to originate calls to its own subscribers. While a third partymarketing entity may not be authorized to contact wireless subscriberson an unsolicited basis, a wireless carrier itself is authorized. Thus,the wireless carrier may either incorporate the call center 250 tooriginate telemarketing calls or contract out to a third party toperform the telemarketing calls on its behalf.

The dialer 150 could access in real time the HLR database 216, oranother database providing location information of the mobile handset,so as to query the location of the subscriber prior to originating thecall. Alternatively, the database queries could provide a current timezone of the subscriber's current location. This latter approach avoidsthe dialer 150 from having to use the location information to thendetermine the local time zone of the wireless called party.

Flowchart for Originating a Telemarketing Call to a Wireless Subscriber

Turning now to FIG. 3, additional details will be provided regarding theprocess flow 300 for originating a call by a call center to a wirelesssubscriber using location information to determine an appropriatecalling window. The logical operations described herein may beimplemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented operations and/oras one or more program modules, including a list processing programmodule running on a computing system, such as a server, and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These operations, structural devices, acts and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof. Greater or fewer operations may beperformed than shown in the figures and described herein. Theseoperations may also be performed in a different order than thosedescribed herein.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the process begins in operation 305 withretrieving a next telephone number (“TN”) record from the outbounddialing list. The TN record includes various information, including butnot limited to, the called party telephone number and whether it is awireless number or not. This can be indicated in various ways, includingan explicit flag. In other embodiments, there may not be any explicitindication in the TN record, but rather another database is queried todetermine whether the telephone number is a wireless number or not. Theprocess of comparing the telephone number against values in anotherdatabase, such as a database of known wireless numbers, is a processtermed herein as “scrubbing” the telephone number.

In operation 310, the TN is tested to determine if it is a wirelessnumber. If the indication is that it is not a wireless number, e.g., itis a wireline number, then in operation 315, the TN can be used todetermine the time zone based on the location at which the NPA-NXX isassigned. The process then proceeds to operation 355 where the localtime zone associated with the wireline number is compared to determineif it is within the regulatory call window requirements. Typically, thecall window is within the window of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. In someembodiments, the call window may be further narrowed based on otherconsiderations. For example, some call centers may avoid calling before8:30 a.m. of the called party.

If the local time is within the calling window in operation 355, thenthe call can originate in operation 360. Because the call is to awireline number, the call can originate using an autodialing procedure.This may be a form of predictive dialing, preview dialing, etc. If thecall is not allowed in operation 355 because of calling windowconstraints, then the process loops back to operation 305 to retrievethe next record.

If, in operation 310, it is determined that the TN is a wireless number,then in operation 320 a test is made to determine if the call is beingoriginated on behalf of the wireless carrier serving that wirelessnumber. A third party call center can make a call as a contractedentity, e.g., on behalf of the wireless carrier. For example, thewireless carrier may use a third party outbound call center to solicitthe wireless carrier customers for new products offered by the wirelesscarrier or to remind the wireless subscriber of an unpaid bill. In otherembodiments, the wireless carrier may operate the call center, e.g., asan internally controlled call center.

If the call is being made on behalf of, or by, the wireless carrier inoperation 320, then in operation 330 the location of the wirelesssubscriber associated with the TN may be determined. The call centerdialer 150 may, e.g., query the mobile service provider to obtain acurrent location of the wireless subscriber. This could occur byquerying the MSC 212, the HLR 216, gateway, or other database.

Once a location of the wireless called party is determined, then a timezone can be determined in operation 340. The location information may beindicated by longitude and latitude coordinates, metropolitanstatistical area (“MSA”) identification, state/city, zip code, or anyother form of location identifier. The location information can then beused to ascertain the local time zone of the wireless subscriber. Theprocessing flow then tests in operation 350 whether the local time zoneis within the calling window.

If the local time of the subscriber in operation 350 indicates that thecall can originate, then operation 345 originates the call using manualdialing. Because the call is to a wireless caller, automatic dialing inviolation of the regulations cannot occur, and one of the other forms,such as manual dialing techniques known to those skilled in the art,must be used. Manual dialing may include, but is not limited to, previewdialing or click-to-dial procedures. Typically, in manual dialing theagent controls some aspect of the call origination. If the call cannotbe completed in operation 350, then the process loops back to operation305 to process the next TN record. Appropriate records of the outcome ofeach call attempt may be recorded.

If, in operation 320, a determination is made that the call is not beingoriginated on behalf of the wireless carrier, then operation 325 occurs.In this operation, the call to the wireless subscriber may be authorizedby the subscriber. For example, the only means of contact to thesubscriber may be using a wireless number, and the subscriber may haveauthorized being contacted using the wireless number. If authorizationis not provided, then the process loops to retrieve the next TN inoperation 305.

If there is authorization to originate a call in operation 325, then theprocess proceeds to operation 335 which is to estimate the time zone.The time zone is “estimated” because it is presumed that if access tothe location information maintained by the carrier is not possible forprivacy concerns, then there may be some uncertainty as to the actualtime zone. Recall that this processing branch proceeded above fromoperation 320 because the call is not being made on behalf of thewireless carrier, and therefore the call center may not have access tothe carrier's HLR data or equivalent data.

List Data Structure Format

FIG. 4 illustrates a list file data structure indicating calledtelephone number records according to one embodiment disclosed herein.The structure can be modeled as a table 400 having various columns andcan be stored as a list database in one embodiment. In one embodiment,the first column 405 is the telephone number of the called party.Typically, this comprises a TN having a conventional NPA-NXX-XXXXformat. The next column 410 comprises a wireline/wireless indication.This indicates whether the telephone number is currently associated witha subscriber of a wireless provider or not. In some embodiments, thisfield is not present. Rather, the TN is scrubbed against anotherdatabase that indicates the nature of the number or other additionalinformation.

The third column 415 indicates whether the call center is authorized tooriginate a call to the TN on behalf of the wireless service provider.In other words, if the wireless service provider has requested the callcenter to solicit the wireless subscribers so that the appropriateregulatory requirements are met, this is set to “yes.”

The next column 420 indicates whether there is appropriate wireless userauthorization for the call. Finally, the last column 425 may indicatethat last known, or estimated time zone of the number, in the absence ofdetermining the location of the wireless TN and the current time zone.Thus, in the absence of location derived time zone information, thisvalue may be used to compare whether the local time comports with theregulatory requirements. In one embodiment, the NPA of the wirelessnumber is used to determine the local time zone.

In this example, three values are illustrated in three rows 450, 460,470. In the first row 450, the number 404 555-1212 is indicated as awireless number, and the outgoing call campaign is being made on behalfof the wireless carrier. Thus, in this case the call can be made to thewireless user if the appropriate wireless carrier authorizationrequirements are met. In this case, there is no need for any specificuser authorization, so this field may indicate a “not applicable” or“N.A.” value. The call center may query e.g., a location database of thewireless carrier to determine a current location of the subscriber, andthen derive the appropriate time zone. In the absence of the ability todo this, e.g., if it is not possible to receive location information andthus determine the current time zone, the TN is presumed to be in thetime zone of the area code. In this example, it is presumed to be theeastern time zone, since the 404 area code is conventionally associatedin the eastern time zone.

The next number, 404 555-1228 is indicated as a wireline number. Sincethis is not associated with a wireline carrier, any call to this numberis not a call made on behalf of a wireless carrier. Hence the “no”indication is present in the third column 415. The third number, 404556-0020 is also a wireless number. However, there is wireless userauthority provided to originate a solicitation call on behalf of thewireless carrier, and so solicitation calls may be made. An indicationthat the number is usually associated with the pacific standard timezone is indicated. This may have been indicated based on prior contactwith the user (e.g., this could be assumed based on an address of theuser). In practice, additional information is likely to be present thatmay supplement or allow the above information to be derived.

Other structures and formats for the TN record tables shown in FIG. 4are possible. For example, each TN may be associated with a contactname, address, location, and zip code (not shown in FIG. 4). It ispossible that a contact name may be associated with more than one TN.For example, one TN may identify the contact's home telephone number,and a second TN may identify the contact's cellular number. Further,information may identify one TN as a primary or preferred telephonenumber to use and another as a secondary contact. This could be based onthe time of day. The above could be stored in a single TN record or inmultiple TN records.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, the processing of a TN record in the listfile may skip over a telephone number for a called party if contact waspreviously successfully made on another number associated with thecalled party. Thus, the system may dial a first wireline number of thecontact (e.g., a preferred contact number) using the autodialingprocedure as indicated in FIG. 3, and then if there is no answer, dial asecond wireless number of the contact (e.g., a secondary contactnumber), but using manual dialing. Thus, the system can alternatedialing forms based on each record or number in the list, as well asskip certain numbers based on prior contact history with the calledparty.

This aspect is illustrated in part in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates aprocessing flow 500 for processing a list of telephone numbers foroutbound calls that may include a secondary telephone number. The flowbegins with operation 505 of retrieving the next TN record to beprocessed. In this embodiment, a TN record may comprise a primary (orpreferred) telephone contact number and a secondary telephone contactnumber. Upon examining the primary telephone contact number, adetermination is made whether the TN is a wireless number of not inoperation 510. If the number is a wireline number, then in operation 515the TN is processed using wireline dialing procedures as discussedabove, and as is known to those skilled in the art. If the TN is awireless number, then in operation 520, the call is originated usingwireless TN dialing procedures as discussed above. Specifically, thewireline procedures may use predictive dialing, whereas wirelessprocedures may use manual dialing.

In either case, a determination in operation 525 is made as to whethercontact was made. If so, this aspect is recorded, and the processproceeds by looping back to operation 505. If no contact was made, adetermination is made in operation 530 whether a secondary telephonenumber is present in the record. Not all records will have a secondarytelephone number, and if not present in the current record, then theprocess loops back to operation 505. If a secondary telephone number ispresent, then the process retrieves the secondary telephone number inoperation 535 and loops back to operation 510. The secondary telephonenumber is then processed by determining whether it is a wireline orwireless number as discussed above. The process completes until the lastrecord in the list is processed.

FIG. 6 illustrates another procedure 600 that may be used by the dialer150 for originating calls on behalf of an agent in a call center. Thismay be combined with the above procedures. The dialer may retrieve inoperation 605 a subset of wireless telephone numbers from a larger list.The subset may be defined as an absolute number (e.g., 25 numbers) oftelephone numbers or as a percentage of a list of telephone numbers(e.g., 5%). In operation 610, the agent then originates a call to thefirst of the numbers using the wireless dialing procedures. Theseprocedures may involve a preview dialing mode or manual dialing mode,where the agent causes the dialing of the call to the wireless numberand is able to monitor the audible progress of the call. The processrepeats for each of the calls in the list as defined for operation 605.

Once the subset of wireless numbers have been dialed, then the systemretrieves a subset of wireline numbers in operation 615. Again, this maybe defined by selecting an absolute number of TNs from a wireline list(i.e., a separate, larger list) or a percentage of numbers therefrom.These calls are then originated by the dialer in operation 620 using theappropriate wireline dialing procedures. In one embodiment, the dialerperforms predictive dialing according to well known techniques.

The operations 605 and 610 may be performed in reverse order instead,e.g., after operations 615 and 620. Thus, the dialing alternates fromdialing a subset of wireless numbers and a subset of wireline numbers.Other techniques may be used to alternate between originating a call toa wireless number and a wireline number. These alternating calls may bemade on behalf of a single agent, a team of agents, or a shift ofagents. Alternating the dialing procedure may make the agent workexperience less tedious, or otherwise alter the workflow and aid inmaximizing agent productivity.

In another embodiment, the agent may be presented on their computer withtwo windows, each of which presents dialing information for a calloriginating of a certain type. Thus, a left window on the computerdisplay could present information associated with originating a wirelinecall, while a right window could present information associated withoriginating a wireless call. This allows the agent to shift between thetwo types of dialing procedures, and/or allows the agent to perform sometasks in parallel, as appropriate.

Dialer Architecture

As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1, the call center architecture100 may comprise various components, such as a dialer 150, that comprisea processing system. FIG. 7 is an exemplary schematic diagram of aserver that may be used in an embodiment of the call center architectureto practice the technologies disclosed herein. FIG. 7 provides anexemplary schematic of a processing system 700, which could representindividually or in combination, for example, the ACD 130, CTI server145, WFM server 155, agent computer 160 a, or other componentspreviously described. In general, the term “processing system” may beexemplified by, for example, but without limitation: a personalcomputer, server, desktop computer, tablets, smart phones, notebooks,laptops, distributed systems, servers, blades, gateways, switches, andthe like, as well as any combination of devices or entities adapted toperform the functions described herein.

As shown in FIG. 7, the processing system 700 may include one or moreprocessors 710 that may communicate with other elements within theprocessing system 700 via a bus 705. The processor 710 may beimplemented as one or more complex programmable logic devices (“CPLD”),microprocessors, multi-core processors, digital signal processors(“DSP”), system-on-a-chip (“SOC”), co-processing entities,application-specific integrated circuits (“ASIC”), field programmablegate arrays (“FPGA”), programmable logic arrays (“PLA”), hardwareaccelerators, other circuitry, or the like.

In one embodiment, the processing system 700 may also include one ormore communications interfaces 720 for communicating data via the localnetwork 170 with various external devices, such as other servers ofFIG. 1. In other embodiments, communication may be via wired, optical,or wireless networks (or a combination thereof). The interface 725 mayuse a variety of data transmission protocols, such as fiber distributeddata interface (FDDI), Ethernet, asynchronous transfer mode (“ATM”), orframe relay.

The input/output controller 730 may also communicate with one or moreinput devices or peripherals using an interface 735, such as, but notlimited to: a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen/display input,microphone, pointing device, etc. The input/output controller 730 mayalso communicate with output devices or peripherals, such as displays,printers, speakers, headsets, banner displays, etc.

The processor 710 may be configured to execute instructions stored involatile memory 740, non-volatile memory 750, or other forms ofcomputer-readable storage media accessible to the processor 710. Thevolatile memory 740 may comprise various types of memory technologies,including, but not limited to: random access memory (“RAM”), dynamicrandom access memory (“DRAM”), static random access memory (“SRAM”), andother forms well known to those skilled in the art. The non-volatilememory 750 may comprise various technologies, including, but not limitedto: storage media such as hard disks, floppy disks, read only memory(“ROM”), programmable read only memory (“PROM”), electrically erasableread only memory (“EPROM”), flash memory, and other forms well known tothose skilled in the art.

The non-volatile memory 750 may store program code and data, which alsomay be loaded into the volatile memory 740 at execution time.Specifically, the non-volatile memory 750 may store one or more listprocessing program modules 753 for performing the process and/orfunctions associated with the technologies disclosed herein. Thenon-volatile memory may also store operating system code 752 containinginstructions. The list processing program module 753 may also access,generate, or store list data 755 in the non-volatile memory 750, as wellas in the volatile memory 740. The list data 755 may comprise theaforementioned telephone records or other data associated withperforming the disclosed procedures. The volatile memory 740 and/ornon-volatile memory 750 may be used to store other informationincluding, but not limited to: records, applications, programs, scripts,source code, object code, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code,machine code, executable instructions, or the like. These may beexecuted or processed by, for example, the processor 710. These may forma part of, or may interact with, the program module 753.

The technologies described herein may be implemented in various ways,including as computer program products comprising memory storinginstructions causing a processor to perform the operations associatedwith the above technologies. The computer program product may comprise anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing applications,programs, program modules, scripts, source code, program code, objectcode, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code,executable instructions, and/or the like (also referred to herein asexecutable instructions, instructions for execution, program code,and/or similar terms). Such non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia include all the above identified computer-readable media(including volatile and non-volatile media), but does not include atransitory, propagating signal. Non-volatile computer-readable storagemedium may specifically comprise: a floppy disk, flexible disk, harddisk, magnetic tape, compact disc read only memory (“CD-ROM”), compactdisc compact disc-rewritable (“CD-RW”), digital versatile disc (“DVD”),Blu-ray™ disc (“BD”), any other non-transitory optical medium, and/orthe like. Non-volatile computer-readable storage medium may alsocomprise read-only memory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory(“PROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory, and/orother technologies known to those skilled in the art.

CONCLUSION

Many modifications and other embodiments of the concepts andtechnologies set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in theart having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoingdescriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that embodiments other than the embodiments disclosed hereinare intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in ageneric and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for originating an outbound callfor an agent in a call center comprising: retrieving a record from alist database within the call center, the record comprising a telephonenumber used to originate the outbound call; determining by an outbounddialing device within the call center whether the telephone number is awireless telephone number or a wireline telephone number; if thetelephone number is a wireline telephone number, then originating theoutbound call to the wireline telephone number using an automateddialing procedure comprising: determining a local time zone associatedwith the wireline telephone number, determining whether the local timezone is within a defined calling window, and if the local time zoneassociated with the wireline telephone number is within the definedcalling window, then originating the outbound call by the outbounddialing device and connecting the outbound call to the agent; and if thetelephone number is a wireless telephone number, then originating theoutbound call to the wireless telephone number using a procedure undercontrol of the agent comprising: determining whether the outbound callis being made on behalf of a wireless carrier, and if the outbound callis being made on behalf of a wireless carrier: querying a currentlocation of a wireless device associated with the wireless telephonenumber by the call center from a database populated by the wirelesscarrier, determining the local time zone associated with the wirelesstelephone number based on the current location of the wireless device,determining whether the local time zone associated with the wirelesstelephone number is within the defined calling window, and if the localtime zone associated with the wireless telephone number is within thedefined calling window, then originating the outbound call under controlof the agent.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein originating the outboundcall under control of the agent is performed by the agent manual dialingthe wireless telephone number.
 3. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising selecting both a first group of wireline telephone numbersand a second group of wireless telephone numbers by the outbound dialingdevice for call origination.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the agentis involved in the call origination from the first group and the secondgroup.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether thetelephone number is a wireless telephone number or a wireline telephonenumber is carried out by the outbound dialing device querying a databaseof known wireless telephone numbers.
 6. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, if the telephone number is a wireless telephone number andthe outbound call is not being made on behalf of the wireless carrier:determining whether authorization has been received by a partyassociated with the wireless telephone number authorizing the callcenter to call the wireless telephone number, and if authorization hasbeen received, then originating the outbound call to the wirelesstelephone number using the automated dialing procedure comprising:determining the local time zone associated with the wireless telephonenumber, determining whether the local time zone is within a definedcalling window, and if the local time zone associated with the wirelesstelephone number is within the defined calling window, then originatingthe outbound call by the outbound dialing device and connecting theoutbound call to the agent.
 7. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium having stored instructions which when executed by aprocessor in an outbound dialer within a call center cause the processorto: retrieve a record from a list database within the call center, therecord comprising a telephone number used to originate an outbound call;determine whether the telephone number is a wireless telephone number ora wireline telephone number; if the telephone number is a wirelinetelephone number, then originate the outbound call to the wirelinetelephone number using an automated dialing procedure to: determine alocal time zone associated with the wireline telephone number, determinewhether the local time zone is within a defined calling window, and ifthe local time zone associated with the wireline telephone number iswithin the defined calling window, then originate the outbound call andconnect the outbound call to an agent; and if the telephone number is awireless telephone number, then originate the outbound call to thewireless telephone number using a procedure under control of the agentto: determine whether the outbound call is being made on behalf of awireless carrier, and if the outbound call is being made on behalf of awireless carrier: query a current location of a wireless deviceassociated with the wireless telephone number from a database populatedby the wireless carrier, determine the local time zone associated withthe wireless telephone number based on the current location of thewireless device, determine whether the local time zone associated withthe wireless telephone number is within the defined calling window, andif the local time zone associated with the wireless telephone number iswithin the defined calling window, then originate the outbound call byhaving the outbound call placed under control of the agent.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein theagent places the outbound call to the wireless number by manual dialingthe wireless telephone number.
 9. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 7, wherein the stored instructions which whenexecuted by the processor in the outbound dialer cause the processor toselect a first group of wireline telephone numbers for origination and asecond group of wireless telephone numbers for origination.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein theagent is involved in originating calls from the first group and callsfrom the second group.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 7, wherein the stored instructions which when executedby the processor in the outbound dialer cause the processor to determinewhether the telephone number is a wireless telephone number or awireline telephone number by querying a database of known wirelesstelephone numbers.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 7, wherein if the telephone number is a wirelesstelephone number and the outbound call is not being made on behalf ofthe wireless carrier, the stored instructions which when executed by theprocessor in the outbound dialer cause the processor to: determinewhether authorization has been received by a party associated with thewireless telephone number authorizing the call center to call thewireless telephone number, and if authorization has been received, thenoriginate the outbound call to the wireless telephone number using theautomated dialing procedure to: determine the local time zone associatedwith the wireless telephone number, determine whether the local timezone is within a defined calling window, and if the local time zoneassociated with the wireless telephone number is within the definedcalling window, then originate the outbound call and connect theoutbound call to the agent.
 13. A system for placing an outbound callfor an agent in a call center comprising: a database storing a list oftelephone numbers comprising a plurality of records used for originatingoutbound calls; and an outbound dialer comprising a processor configuredto: retrieve a record from the list, the record comprising a telephonenumber used to originate the outbound call, determine whether thetelephone number is a wireless telephone number or a wireline telephonenumber, if the telephone number is a wireline telephone number, thenoriginate the outbound call to the wireline telephone number using anautomated dialing procedure to: determine a local time zone associatedwith the wireline telephone number, determine whether the local timezone is within a defined calling window, and if the local time zoneassociated with the wireline telephone number is within the definedcalling window, then originate the outbound call and connect theoutbound call to the agent, and if the telephone number is a wirelesstelephone number, then originate the outbound call to the wirelesstelephone number using a procedure under control of the agent to:determine whether the outbound call is being made on behalf of awireless carrier, and if the outbound call is being made on behalf of awireless carrier: query a current location of a wireless deviceassociated with the wireless telephone number from a database populatedby the wireless carrier, determine the local time zone associated withthe wireless telephone number based on the current location of thewireless device, determine whether the local time zone associated withthe wireless telephone number is within the defined calling window, andif the local time zone associated with the wireless telephone number iswithin the defined calling window, then originate the outbound call byhaving the outbound call placed under control of the agent.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, further comprising: an agent workstation, whereinthe agent workstation is configured to provide a manual dialingindicator to the processor to have the outbound call placed undercontrol of the agent.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the agentworkstation is configured to process an outbound call to a wirelinetelephone number.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor isconfigured to determine whether the telephone number is a wirelesstelephone number or a wireline telephone number by querying a databaseof known wireless telephone numbers.
 17. The system of claim 13, whereinif the telephone number is a wireless telephone number and the outboundcall is not being made on behalf of the wireless carrier, the processoris configured to: determine whether authorization has been received by aparty associated with the wireless telephone number authorizing the callcenter to call the wireless telephone number, and if authorization hasbeen received, then originate the outbound call to the wirelesstelephone number using the automated dialing procedure to: determine thelocal time zone associated with the wireless telephone number, determinewhether the local time zone is within a defined calling window, and ifthe local time zone associated with the wireless telephone number iswithin the defined calling window, then originate the outbound call andconnect the outbound call to the agent.